Ice refrigerator



c. F. BELSHAW 2,132,255

ICE REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 9, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet l Gd. 4, 1933, C, F BELSHAW 2,332,255

ICE REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 9, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 4, 193. c. F. BELSHAW ICE REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 9, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 nven'kor Chafles F Shaw Ma QUWM ATFT

Patented Oct. 4, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerators and more particularly to refrigerators cooled by ice although some of its features may be utilized in mechanically cooled refrigerators.

Among the advantages of this invention are increased refrigerating efiiciency, simplicity and cheapness of construction, minimizing moisture condensation on the outside front of the refrigerator, uniform air circulation inthe provision chamber, minimum condensation on interior surfaces, accessibility for cleaning, and maintenance of air circulation passages around the ice.

The invention provides various new and useful features of construction and arrangement hereafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional elevation, with parts broken away, of an ice refrigerator embodying this invention shown in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the front upper portion of the refrigerator showing both the outer door and the ice compartment gate opened.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the upper part of the refrigerator taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan of the parts of Fig. 3 showing the ice compartment gate in lowered open position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the ice compartment gate viewed from the rear or inner side.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional elevation on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 of the upper part of the refrigerator.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the inner part of the ice compartment and a portion of the ice supporting rack, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view from the interior 'of a portion of a wing of the ice compartment gate and its engaging and retaining member.

Like numbers refer to like parts in all of the figures.

The refrigerator box proper comprises an outer casing I and an inner casing 2 spaced apart and having located between them conventional framework 3 and insulating material 4. Access to the interior of the refrigerator box is obtained through the front and in the device illustrated, a single door 5 is provided located in a door opening 6.

The ice chamber is located in the upper part of the refrigerator and the provision chamber is that lower part of the interior of the refrigerator not occupied by the ice chamber. The ice cham ber structure extends entirely across the interior of the refrigerator from one side to the other and is located against the back of the refrigerator but is spaced from the front of the refrigerator so that there is an appreciable opening between it and the outer door 5 when closed whereby the air circulation upward from the provision chamber passes between the ice chamber and the door before entering the ice chamber.

The ice chamber has a bottom pan 1 having upturned flanges at each of its sides and its side edges are supported by angle members 8 fastened directly to the sides of the inner casing 2 as by spot welding. The front edge of the bottom pan 1 is reinforced by a bar 9 of wood or similar heat insulating material, the ends of which are supported upon the angle members 8 and are preferably detachably connected thereto by means of screws Ill. The sides and back of the ice chamber are provided with an ice guard ll which has outwardly turned flanges 12 at its top and bottom edges which space it from the inner casing 2 providing insulating dead air spaces at the sides and back of the ice chamber.

The ice rack I3 is made of relatively light weight sheet metal having deep corrugations extending its entire width from side to side of the ice chamber and the rack is supported by angle members 14 attache-d as by spot welding to the respective sides of the ice guard H and inclined downwardly from front to rear, the supporting angles l4 having upwardly turned end portions I5, at front and rear to properly locate the ice rack thereon. An umbrella sheet I6 is located against the bottom of the ice rack and is welded or otherwise attached to the downward corrugations thereof and this sheet serves to prevent spreading of the corrugations under heavy load as well as another purpose hereafter described.

The bottom pan 1 is inclined downwardly from front to rear and near its rear edge is provided with a drain spout l1 communicating with a drain pipe I8 which extends through the provision chamber and communicates with the drain outlet l9 extending through the bottom of the refrigerator. Centrally spaced transversely of the bottom pan'and nearer the back than the front thereof, but appreciably spaced from the back of the bottom pan and the refrigerator, is provided a cold air flue 20 having an upwardly extending lip around its entire edge. The umbrella sheet 5 is located directly over the cold air flue 2B and serves the customary purpose of preventing moisture which may rise from the provision chamber through the fiue 20 directly contacting the ice rack l3 and condensing thereon.

The front of the ice chamber is provided with a gate 2! which is preferably formed of two spaced metal sheets with insulation between them and this gate when closed is spaced from the front door 5, when it is closed, and the upper edge of the gate is spaced appreciably below the top of the refrigerator whereby an air passage is provided from the provision chamber upwardly between the front door 5 and the front of the ice chamber and over the top of the gate into the ice chamber. The details of the construction of the gate and its method of mounting and operation will be hereafter more fully described.

The structure so far describes results in various desirable functions. Inasmuch as there is no air passage between the provision chamber and the ice chamber at the sides and back thereof all of the warm air circulating from the provision chamber to the ice chamber must move to the front of the refrigerator and upwardly adjacent the back side of the front door 5 and thence over the top of the gate 2| into the ice chamber. One desirable result of this air move ment is that the warmest air in the refrigerator is brought adjacent the front door, where it is well recognized the greatest refrigeration loss occurs. The result of this is that the heat differential between the outside of the refrigerator and the air immediately adjacent the front door is reduced which reduces the heat transfer at this location and increases the cooling efiiciency of the refrigerator and also minimizes the moisture condensation on the outside of the front of the refrigerator.

The deeply corrugated ice rack 13 provides a stiff, strong member from relatively thin material which is of sufiicient strength to support the ice 22 by supporting the rack only at its respective ends and without intermediate supports. This has the advantage of using a relatively light weight bottom pan 1 since this pan does not support the load of the ice and further more, the elimination of the customary supporting legs intermediate the length of the rack eliminates the expense thereof and avoids rusting which ordinarily takes place when such legs are used. Another advantage of this structure is that the weight of the ice is supported entirely at and by the respective sides of the chamber which load is carried, as will be seen, in Fig. 6, through the supporting angles M, the lower portion of the ice guard H, and the supporting angles 8 which are attached directly to the sides of the inner casing 2.

Inasmuch as there are no perforations through the ice rack l3, and the corrugations prevent the water from the melting ice flowing rearward- 1y, all of such water must run to and be drained from the respective ends of the rack from where it flows over the supporting angles l4, either rearwardly or down the sides of the ice guard II and thence flows along the rear edge of the bottom pan 1 into the drain spout I 1. Thus none of this water, which is only slightly above freezing temperature, is deposited on the main body of the bottom pan 1 to cool it and cause condensation thereunder.

The crosswise corrugations in the ice rack l3 prevent the ice slipping rearwardly down the inclination of the rack, as it would do if there were no such retaining means, and thus an air passage space is maintained at the rear of the ice so that the air may always have free passage above, at the rear and at the front of the ice and may be most efficiently cooled thereby.

It is desirable to maintain a relatively thin blanket of comparatively warm air at the back and at the sides of the provision chamber for insulation purposes and to this end the cold air flue 2D is located in a position spaced forwardly from the back of the refrigerator and also it is centrally located in a crosswise direction and the cold air moving downwardly through the flue does not engage either the sides or the back of the refrigerator but this flue is sufficiently near the back so that the cold air passing downwardly through it will circulate through the rear part of the provision chamber without actually engaging the back wall thereof and will then move forwardly and upwardly as previously explained, and quite uniformly cool the provision chamber.

The supporting bar 9, past which the warm air from the provision chamber rises, being of wood or other non-conducting material, does not get extremely cold from the ice chamber and therefore does not condense moisture in the air which moves past it, which condensation dripping into the provision chamber would be extremely objectionable.

The ice chamber gate 2! is mounted by novel construction to swing without having a fixed hinge connection. This gate has inner and outer metal faces 25 between which is insulating material 26 which makes a rigid structure and insulates the passage between the gate and the door 5 from the ice chamber. The lower edge of the gate is provided with a depending fiange 21 along the lower front edge of the gate and an upwardly extending flange 28 at the front edge of the bottom pan '1 and above the supporting rail 9 serves as a fulcrum on which the gate rests and swings. The gate is provided at its respective ends with rearwardly extending wings 29 which have edges 30 in substantially the same plane as the lower edge of the gate and these edges 30 of the wings are turned outwardly and return bent in the form of hooks 3i.

When the gate is in vertical closed position its ends overlap the respective front edges of the ice guard II and it cannot be moved backwardly sufficiently to slide off the flange 28 and in this position the wings 29 lie between the respective side members of the ice guard II and the sides of the inner casing 2 and the weight of these wings tends to retain the gate in this upright closed position.

Retaining plates 32, with vertical hooked edges 33, are attached to the respective sides of the refrigerator with the hooked edges 33 extending upwardly approximately above the supporting bar 9 and extending outwardly adjacent the wings 29 of the gate so that they will be engaged by the hooked edges 3| thereof.

When the gate is in vertical position the engagement of the flange 21 with the flange 28 prevents forward movement of the gate and the front edges of ice guard H, see Figs. 2 and 3, prevents rearward movement. When the gate is in lowered position the said co-acting pairs of hooked edges 2| and 33 engage to stop the downward movement of the gate in substantially horizontalposition. Ears 34 at the upper ends of the hooked edges 33 overlap the upper ends of the hooked edges 3| when the gate is lowered and prevent its inner edge being raised but when the gate is swung upwardly a short distance the upper ends of the hooked edges 3| will avoid the ears 34 and the gate may be raised upwardly sufiiciently to gain access to the lower edge thereof and the flanges 21 and 28 for cleaning which accessibility is most desirable in a refrigerator.

This gate structure and means of mounting is simple to manufacture and assemble and is exceptionally strong which is necessary especially in its lowered position where it serves as a shelf upon which the cake of ice is placed before moving it inward onto the ice rack and furthermore, when in this lowered position, the upper surface of the gate, including the flange 21 extending therefrom, extends inward and overlaps the forward edge of the bottom pan 1 so that anything deposited upon it, such as water or dirt from the ice, will find its way into the bottom pan when the gate is raised and cannot drop into the provision chamber. Another advantage of this gate extending entirely across the refrigerator door opening is that when it is lowered to receive ice it tends to conceal the provision chamber and its contents from the view of the ice delivery man.

From the foregoing it will be seen that many advantages are attained by this invention. The fact that all of the air which has been warmed in the provision chamber moves to the front and upwardly directly behind the outside door reduces the heat transfer from the outside to the inside of the refrigerator and increases the efficiency and minimizes the condensation on the exterior of the front of the refrigerator. The construction of the ice chamber and ice rack are simple and economical and strong. The fact that the bottom pan 1 supports no weight makes it possible to use thin metal in its construction. The ice rack, being deeply corrugated, is of sufiicient strength to be supported entirely at its respec tive side edges which carries the Weight of the ice upon it directly to the side structure of the refrigerator. The ice will not move backward down the incline of the ice rack because of the corrugations and thereby a free space is maintained for the circulation of air around the ice. The cold water drain from the ice is kept from the main body of the bottom pan so that it is not extremely cooled which eliminates condensation on the pan. The cold air, passing downwardly from the ice chamber, is kept from direct contact with the back and sides of the provision chamber so that a relatively warm air blanket may be maintained around the sides and back for heat insulation and the cold air passing into the provision chamber enters sufficiently near the back and thence moves downwardly and toward the front so that a substantially uniform cooling of the provision chamber is obtained. The supporting bar 9, past which the warmed air from the provision chamber moves, is of insulating material which prevents it getting extremely cold and eliminates condensation thereon. The gate structure is simple and rigid and provides an insulation at the front of the ice chamber as well as a simple swinging mounting and retaining means and accessibility for cleaning.

The ice cooling medium is spaced from all outside ice chamber walls and protected from radiant heat therefrom on all sides by the u-shaped ice guard and its front enclosing insulated gate all of which are finished in heat reflective coatings to act as effective heat radiation shields.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. A refrigerator having a provision chamber, an opening leading thereto, a door for said opening and an ice chamber structure in said provision chamber, said ice chamber structure extending entirely across the provision chamber from side to side near the top thereof and located against the back of said provision chamber and spaced from the inner side of said front door and having an air entrance passage at its front upper portion and having a cold air flue through its lower side.

2. The elements in combination defined in claim 1, in which said ice chamber structure is provided with a heat insulated door spaced from the inner side of said outer door and accessible through said outer door opening.

3. The elements in combination defined in claim I, in which the forward lower edge of said ice chamber structure is heat insulated from the interior thereof.

4. In a refrigerator having a provision chamber, an ice chamber located above the provision chamber, an inclined bottom pan separating said ice chamber from said provision chamber, an ice rack spaced from said bottom pan and having no supporting means in engagement with said bottom pan excepting at the extreme edges thereof and means for carrying all water from melting ice on said rack to the side edges of said inclined bottom pan.

5. In a refrigerator having a provision chamber, an ice chamber located above the provision chamber, a bottom pan inclined from front to rear separating said ice chamber from said provision chamber, an ice rack located above and spaced from said bottom pan, said ice rack also being inclined from the front to the rear of said ice chamber and having corrugations extending transversely of said ice chamber, means for supporting said ice rack entirely at its respective ends and out of contact with the main body portion of said bottom pan, and said ice rack being imperforate, whereby all water melted from ice thereon drains from its end or ends to the side edge or edges of said inclined bottom pan.

6. In a refrigerator having a gate, means for swingably mounting the gate whereby it may be swung to closed and open positions and also be lifted from its pivot, and means for preventing lifting movement when the gate is swung to a .certain predetermined operating position said last mentioned means being spaced from the pivot.

7. The combination of elements as set forth in claim 6 but also having means for limiting the swinging movement of the gate to open position, said means also acting to carry the center of gravity of said gate rearwardly of its point of support, as the gate approaches its closed position, to urge the gate toward and to maintain the gate in closed position.

8. In a refrigerator, an ice chamber therein having an open front side, a gate to partially close said front opening, a downwardly extending flange at the lower edge of said gate, means in the lower edge of said front opening loosely engaging the lower edge of said gate forwardly of said flange, means for preventing rearward movement of said gate when in vertical position suflicient to dislodge its lower edge from said means at the lower edge of the opening, means for limiting the outward and downward swinging movement of said gate, and means for preventing the upward movement of the inner edge of said gate when in open position, said last mentioned means being inoperative when said gate is in any other position whereby the lower edge of the gate may be lifted from its supporting means.

CHARLES F. BELSHAW. 

